Our next show on April 1st is going to be a Young Eyes record release party! We’re so excited to be once again hosting Brian Lee and the gang as they’re definitely one of the best when it comes to central Illinois indie rock.

The Young Eyes

Ever since falling in love with their previous band Brian Lee & His Orchestra, we’ve been huge fans of whatever these guys do. However, once it was announced the Orchestra was morphing into a new kind of band, we were a bit worried. We really liked the current thing and didn’t like seeing it go away. Fortunately the Young Eyes are fantastic! The new sound has a vintage timelessness to it that at the same time sounds modern and fresh. Due to the band’s business outside of being a band, it’s a bit difficult to actually see them perform, so make sure you don’t miss your chance this time around.

Also on the ticket is another local indie icon, Kirk Donley. Kirk is a veteran in the scene as he’s performed in quite a few bands, and is currently half of the Dandelion Pickers. When not playing shows, Kirk and his wife also give music lessons. If you’re someone looking to learn a thing or two, they’re the people to see.

Kirk Donley

We’re also excited to once again host local springfield rockers Stereo Static. Their last appearance was at last year’s Horse Show and they have been playing shows around town since.

Stereo Static

Outside of music, we’ll be displaying visual art by Immanuel Ahiable. Last show we experimented with a small art gallery format for Amanda Greive and it worked out really well. It was a challenge to figure out how to do this right in a dimly lit basement but it worked out so well that we’re excited to make this a regular thing. Immanuel will be showing some original paintings and maybe even video!

Are we already talking about the 3rd show of 2017? I guess this is happening. This year has been so great, we’ve been receiving so much love from our local community and it feels better than ever to keep putting on these events.

This March we’ll be hosting Edward + Jane from Chattanooga, TN. We’ve been trying to get this band in for a bit and just haven’t been able to get the scheduling to work out. We’re glad this is finally happening and what timing! They’re recently released single from their new album is just killer! We can’t wait to hear their indie folk/americana family band style reminiscent to the Oh Hellos. They will be arriving as a 7 piece band so get ready for a nice big full sound and something really great!

Back for their 2nd Radon show is Alex and the XO’s. Some folks may remember this band from Bloomington, IL when they opened for the Strumbellas here at the Radon Lounge a few years back. It’s certainly been a while and this band has been churning out plenty of new music since then. They still have their interesting take on mandolin and ukulele coupled with styles reminiscent of the 90s alternative scene. Can’t wait to hang with them again.

Playing their first Radon show and perhaps first show ever is Kneller. Folks have probably noticed Blaine Kneller hanging at Radon shows lately and other Radon events, we’re looking forward to seeing his band. Nothing is posted online yet, so you’ll just have to come listen to them here.

Keeping with our new focus on community collaboration, we’re excited to be hosting local painter Amanda Greive at this event. We were honored to use one of her original images for the poster for event. Her hyper realistic paintings defy our senses and we really just wanted to get her to bring her stuff here so we can find out once and for all how she manages to pull off these unique works of art. We will be displaying some of her original works at this show.

Also as a part of this event, we’ve got local Springfield treasure Yanni’s Gyros providing FREE BAKLAVA to the guests of this event. We can’t believe how generous they are to be supporting what we’re doing in such a cool way. Everyone needs to eat there and thank them for being such cool community collaborators!

So we’ve got 3 full bands, an amazing visual artist and a local restaurant all rolled up into one great event. Don’t forget there’s also the free arcade and coffee, hope you can make it!

Our next show is the CHRISTMAS EXPLOSION, happening Dec 16th. This show marks 5 years of Radon Lounge shows since our first official Radon show that also happened to be a Christmas Explosion.

Christmas Explosion is a family tradition that dates back to college days, technically this will be the 12th Christmas Explosion for us and usually incorporates a potluck and games. Since starting the Radon Lounge, live music has become an integral part.

Potluck starts at 6pm, $5 donation for the event is appreciated. Music will start at 6:45.

This year we are excited and humbled to be hosting Timbre, world renown harpist from Nashville. Timbre has been everywhere and pretty much done everything. She’s collaborated with many noteworthy artists such as Jack White, Tom Jones, Ricky Skaggs, and mewithoutYou. She has been a perennial favorite at the Cornerstone music festival and now one of the must see sets at AudioFeed. Her unique blend of neo classical and indie folk, classically trained voice and harp, and her very talented bandmates create music that I can only describe as beautiful, in the most fullest and thought provoking way possible.

Also on the show is our longtime music friends Hushpad. We’ve seen many lineup iterations for this band and the current lineup is the best yet. The current lineup OFFICIALLY includes Jess and Kelsey of the band Von Strantz along with Local boys Matt Welchel and Ethan Coonce, which is about 2/3rds of the entire lineup from this year’s legendary Audiofeed set.

Also on for the show is a relatively new Springfield indie folk band this year, The Dandelion Pickers. Although the band name has come on the scene just this year, Kirk Donley who makes up one half of this band has been around for quite a while heading up other well known local bands such as The Transatlantic, Sealife, and the more recent Sawhorse. Including the Donleys in this lineup seemed a no brainer to mark such a big event.

Lastly, on this show will be a different band of sorts. Not really a band so much as a club of ukelele enthusiasts, the Springfield Uketopians will close out the evening with christmas caroling around the fire.

This November we’ve got a pretty strange show booked at the Radon Lounge. We’re excited to bring back Red Sweater Lullaby once again. Some folks might remember the killer Red Sweater set from this year’s AudioFeed when Kris teamed up with members of Listener and Foxhollow. This show will be a solo set, but it just keeps getting better every time we see this band.

Also arriving on a different tour is Kevin Schlereth, Chris Bernstorf and Keyoung. It’s been a good minute since Kevin has played a Radon Lounge show. He was the second touring musician to hit the basement for our 2nd ever Radon basement show and has played a couple Radon shows since. Kevin has really developed his sound and released a few albums since then. This year at AudioFeed Kevin was the only musician to pull off a successful stage dive from the Radon stage. Kevin is well known for his acoustic emo jams and hard to spell name.

Speaking of hard to spell names, on tour with Kevin is spoken word poet and Cornerstone vet Chris Bernstorf. He’ll be spitting some bars and is not afraid to show his authentic faith. This will be Chris’ first time playing a Radon show.

We’re also excited to have Keyoung back since his performance at the Horse Show and then again at AudioFeed. We can’t think of another spoken word/rap artist who speaks the volumes and emotional depth of Keyoung. His sets are always captivating

Also on the show are local rappers Brandon Austin and the MB. When not wrapping at Zach’s Wraps, Zach performs all around town as the Momma’s Boy. The MB was scheduled to make an appearance at this year’s Horse Show, but had to bow out due to an injury, so we’re happy he was able to make it to this time.

Brandon Austin is on the top of his game after just being voted Springfield’s best rapper via the Illinois Times. We were really impressed with his set this year at the Horse Show and look forward to seeing him again.

To keep with the show’s theme, we’re serving up free eggo waffles along with our free coffee and free arcade games! But unfortunately you’re not going to find our stash of chocolate pudding. Check out the facebook event.

Real big quality indie show happening this Saturday, October 1st. Two tours are colliding in our basement. Cubits and The Mailboxes are roaming the states together. You may recognize a member of Cubits from Fairfield, IA as being none other than Mr Nasti himself. This is Nicholas’ latest setup with a really nice electronic wiz bang band. Since this is a brand new band, there isn’t much recorded yet, but be prepared for something tasty and good. Here’s what’s out there so far.

It’s also nice having Tennessee band Mailboxes back with their Regina Spektor-ish vibes. Jillian has been busy writing new material and this band is certainly showing many emotional sides. We’re excited to have their energy back in the basement.

On tour from from the other direction is Chicago based band Campdogzz. This band appears to be on the move, and who knows where they’ll be going from here. We’re really excited to add them to an already stellar lineup. Although typically a duo, they are going all out with a 6 piece band, we expect it’s going to be ridiculously good. Of their list of bands that inspire them, Cat Power certainly stands out to us in their music. Check out their album, it’s been on rotation on our playlist for quite some time.

Skunkworks are the only local Springfield act on the lineup. We’re really excited about this band. They came out of nowhere this year and got the judges vote a the battle of the bands and have definitely caught our eye as the best new indie in town. If you like bands like Radiohead, Tame Impala, and Death Cab, then you’ll definitely want to catch this.

Also as an extra treat for this show, we’ll be serving breakfast cereal along with our usual coffee and free arcade. A show this sweet needs to go with a sweet bowl of cereal.

It’s going to be a splendid show, you’ll definitely want to pop open a pamplemoose la croix, take it easy, and let it all in. Also there’s a new arcade machine in the Radon Arcade. The music will beat up your feels, the arcade will do the rest.

Just coming off the busiest time of the year for Radon Lounge festivals, and gearing up for a nice break with the fam. But first I need to record how things went at AudioFeed 2016.

Once again I was in charge of managing the 3rd largest AudioFeed stage, which happened to be the Radon Lounge tent, the place where you go to rest after raging in the pit at the other stages. This year the Baristie Boys upped their coffee game with totally rad Nitros, Pour Overs, and Thai Iced Coffees.

I heard multiple reports AudioFeed established itself this year. Attendance was certainly up, despite rain. It’s safe to say it is now the premier midwest summer festival for really weird Christians (and non-believers, no stones thrown here) who don’t fit in anywhere else. If you’re a person who hasn’t let western politics tamper with your faith, thinks christian radio sucks, or just wants to live a full life following Jesus, this is your fest.

As expected, AudioFeed felt like a family reunion. So many bands we’ve hosted at Radon shows over the years come together to play this fest and hang. I couldn’t walk anywhere without bumping into another person to hug and share what’s going on in our lives, it was really hard getting work done.

So much good music happened this year, it would be really hard to describe all of it. I’m going to talk about some of my favorite performances. Unfortunately since I’m busy most of the time managing the stage, I miss a lot of stuff going on elsewhere. I did not get to see some of my top picks for new bands such as Jackie-Hill Perry, Josh Garrels, Tow’rs, and The Hunts. I also didn’t get see some other performances that were reported to me as killer, such as Comrades, Dad Jokes, Listener, Emery, Analecta, Levi the Poet, Flatfoot 56, Propoganda, and ’68.

I’m going to list my top 5 sets of the fest, which is dangerous. There are sooo many good bands, and bands that give their best performances at AudioFeed as many consider this their big set of the year and pull out all the stops. And of course I’m always going to forget something while I’m writing and totally kick myself about it later. Also my perception is relative to a lot of things. My experience could be affected by whether I’m too busy to focus, too hungry, too warm/cold, too much unhealthy food (don’t wanna explain that further), just dealt with an asshole, or screwed something up for someone and felt bad about it. All that aside, some of these sets just hit me in the perfect place where I could die right there on the spot having lived a complete life.

#5 Must Build Jacuzzi – This was actually a last minute add for the fest. Another band cancelled and they happened to be available. I actually thought this band no longer existed. But who can say no to a good ska band now and then. They drew the wildest crowd of the whole fest to the Radon tent with infinity skanking and circle pits, especially considering they were on the stage pretty early on during the first day of the fest and after 3 laid-back female singer-songwriters. It was definitely the biggest genre-shock I’ve ever experienced, and that’s saying something when it comes to my shows.

Sam Arias, AudioFeed 2016

#4 Sam Arias – This was a beautiful set. I might have done some arm twisting to make sure at least one of these bands that I’ve discovered in the Chicago area would get to play. Looks like Sam got the luck of the draw, but he in turn brought everyone else in his tight-knit circle. Sam, backed by members of Qajaq, Families, and NAAL (maybe others too that I don’t even know about). His band was so tight, it definitely felt like a once in a lifetime experience.

Zoo (after-show cuddles – AudioFeed 2016)

#3 Zoo – I knew this would be good, and I was looking forward to it the whole fest. Zoo had performed previously as a duo at one of my basement shows last year, and it was my favorite basement set of that year. This time he brought a full band and they were TIGHT, so good, cannot recommend Zoo enough. I really think this band is going “blow up” someday as long as people don’t keep confusing it with another zoo from their hometown of Cincinnati.

Red Sweater Lullaby – AudioFeed 2016

#2 Red Sweater Lullaby – I’ve seen Red Sweater a handful of times, each time it’s a little different. Sometimes it’s just Kris Rochelle (of Listener) with an acoustic guitar, sometimes it’s a band. This time it was a band, with Dan Smith (of Listener, I think) on bass, and members of Foxhollow on drums and guitar. I was completely not ready for how much this band slayed. He sang his heart completely out and they rocked so hard. I couldn’t gush enough backstage.

Forrister – AudioFeed 2016 – photo stolen from David “NAAL” Mantel.

#1 Forrister – Ok, I know what you’re thinking. “You’re just all starstruck… Julien Baker… blah blah blah”. Well, yeah that’s part of it. But I tried real hard to put that bias aside. Of course Julien’s solo work is blowing up and is awesome, etc, but there really isn’t much out there about her band Forrister. They have a bandcamp site with one song, and it’s pretty good, but maybe not mind-blowing. I wasn’t sure if this band would just be all hype or actually good, needless to say I was skeptical. I met Julien right before she went on stage and she was really, really nice. Her whole band was really excited to be there, as if they were just excited we allowed them to play our fest. They were totally not rock stars about anything. We talked about DIY stuff for a bit and then she went on. They obliterated AudioFeed, The End.

Honorable Mentions

Kevin Schlereth – I’ve seen Kevin perform quite a few times, but not lately. He’s really re-invented himself and after being snubbed by the fest for 3 years, he got his revenge with a massive crowd, huge sing-alongs, and the only crowdsurf of the Radon tent.

Mike Mains & the Branches – This band has some attention for sure, I’ve just never listened. I was worried they would be “too poppy”, but they rocked hard and it was good and I am now won over.

6’10 – did not disappoint just like at the Horse Show. Huge sing-alongs and you can tell they’re one of the best loved bands of the fest. It was hard not adding them to my top 5, just too many good bands, we need to stop booking so many good bands.

Adjy – I was so looking forward to this band and they were just as good if not better than I imagined. I found out their lack of online presence is on purpose as they are against social media and promoting the band through modern means. But they do believe in building personal relationships with their audience and they are some very genuinely present people. They even offered to help me load my pinball machine at the end of the fest. Their sound might just help me forget my eternal sadness when Anathallo broke up years ago. The only thing keeping them from my top 5 is all the technical difficulties we had during the set. We didn’t have near enough setup time scheduled for this kind of kitchen sink band, and had problems throughout the set, so it was hard to really get into the music. Next time we’ll be prepared. Hopefully we won’t have to wait till the next AudioFeed…

Hushpad – played 2 sets, the first set felt like a practice set to the 2nd. The 2nd set being the final performance of AudioFeed 2016, which was a perfect way to end the fest. The hope was to have the festival converge on the Flatfoot 56 set, and then come and relax to Hushpad’s chill vibes. Unfortunately not many got the memo, but their loss. The tent really felt like a Radon Lounge show as so many friends who we’ve hosted got together to hang and make good vibes together. This was a very memorable set, which included performers from many different phases of Hushpad through the years, basically a super Hushpad that slayed and made us feel good about life.

No Place – I couldn’t find much about this band before the fest, probably because they just changed names. I was pretty distracted during their set with lots of business to take care of with different people acting like rock stars, but when I got to stop and listen, it was soo good. I can’t remember much of their set as that time was a blur, but I couldn’t help but appreciate this band’s energy and good vibes. I can’t wait to see them again.

Strahan – from New Zealand! He happened to be touring with Josh Garrels and somehow got dumped on my stage. Definitely the virtuoso acoustic guitar singer-songwriter on my stage for the fest. His songwriting is certainly on point.

Trouper – almost made my top 5, I fall for this band more and more each time I hear it as it just keeps getting better and better. This is another band that’s gone through many different lineup and sound changes, but it seems they’re now perfecting a good thing, everyone needs to hear this band!

Cubits – Unexpected pleasure. I thought Nicholas (Mr Nasti) was going to do a solo set, but instead he brought his brand new band. This set could have been better, but we ran into some tech problems, but the songs that worked out were super good. Rumor has it we’ll get to try again this year to take in this band…

Timbre – Timbre will always be on my list. AudioFeed just wouldn’t be the same without her neo-classical indie harp-pop. She just hits me right there, and I fall in love with her beautiful harp playing and voice again and again.

I’m already thinking of things to do better next year at the Radon tent. I’m looking forward to putting heads together with the Baristie Boys to put on the best Radon experience ever. I’ve got new equipment ideas, and ideas to enhance the artist and audience experience. It’s only going to get better.

AudioFeed is almost upon us. Radon will once again run the hipster music stage for Dads, aka Radon Lounge tent stage. The fest runs July 1-3, with a special early day on June 30th.

I look forward to this music festival every year as it feels like a big family reunion with getting together with many of the bands that have visited the Radon Lounge over the years and we get to hang out for the better part of a week.

The nice thing about this fest is there always is something good going on between the 6 official stages and who knows what shenanigans involving ninjas, kangaroos, free water guys… going on everywhere.

And of course there are plenty of new friends to be made, I’m especially looking forward to checking out ADJY (reminds me of my lost love Anathallo) and the fest doesn’t stop there with new things for me to discover as I’m especially stoked to see Tow’rs, Frances Luke Accord, and Strahan for the first time. I also have to say listening to The Hunts makes me almost feel young again.

The Hunts

AudioFeed definitely tightened up their hiphop game this time, one new-to-the-fest artist I’m hoping to see is Jackie Hill-Perry. I’m not an expert on rap, but there’s just something about her style that screams authenticity.

A couple big standout bands this year are Josh Garrels and Forrister. Josh Garrels may just be the only CCM artist left in the world whose records I may still listen to willingly. Forrister doesn’t have many recordings to listen to yet, but I expect good things and will be excited when they take the Radon stage Friday night. Forrister is headed up by one Bulien Jaker (spelling?), a girl not afraid to express her faith, still create good music, and is totally tearing up the indie world right now.

Josh Garrels

One cannot forget Flatfoot 56. In previous years the Flatfoot set has been a highlight of the fest, bringing cardboard battles, pillow wars, and this year a big ole barnyard hootenanny.

Flatfoot 56 cardboard wars, 2014

There’s plenty of other fun activities to check out. Bring a tent and camp out for the whole fest. Get your tickets AudioFeedFestival.com. Be sure to check out the whole lineup and do your homework as I’m sure I’ve missed something completely awesome.

June 18th will be here soon. Horse Show preparations are on schedule. We’ve been building stages, confirming bands, and generally getting pumped.

This year’s Horse Show brings 19 bands on 2 stages. Fun games may include volleyball and bags. We’re also working out the possibility of doing activities with the horses. The new Refuge Ranch property is about 3 times as big as the old place. There will be plenty of room to park and explore, including a pond!

We’re excited about this year’s lineup and the new Refuge Ranch location. We’re soo ready for this that we actually made a map!

Also the final Lineup and Schedule have been announced. This nifty handout that we will be giving out the day of the event does a good job of getting you all that info.